Gardening-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. G. SMITH.

GARDENING MACHINE.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheetv 2.

J. G. SMITH.

GARDENING MACHINE.

. No. 318,047. Patented May 19, 1885..

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH GRANDISON SMITH, OF KINDERHOOK, ILLNOIS.

GARDENING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 318,047, dated May 19,1885.

Application filed December 13, 1884. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, J. GRANDISON SMITH, a citizen of theUnited States,residing at Kinderhook, in the county of Pike and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gardening-lvlachines, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

rlhis invention has relation to gardeningmachines for marking,drilling,and cultivating a garden or field; and it has for its object to providea machine of this class which will perform the necessary operations in acheap and expeditious manner, which will be guided in a perfectlystraight line, and which may be worked with but little resistance.

Vith these and other objects in View the said invention consists in theemployment of track-rails for the wheels of the machine to run on, whichrails are arranged in rows or parallel lines, and in the adaptation ofthe gardening-machine for this new construction or arrangement, as willbe hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a machineembodying the improvement of my invention in place upon-the track inconnection with which it is used. Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinalsectional view of the machine andthe supporting-rail of the track. Fig.Sis a crosssection of the rail H. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the railG. Fig. 5 shows a plan of the track-rail; and Fig. (is a side elevationof the machine, and arranged to receive the supporting-rail. Fig. 7shows the arrangement of the posts for supporting the guide-rails.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, o o designate theposts on which the track-rails are laid. These posts project a shortdistance above the ground, (see Fig. 2,) and are arranged as shown inFigs. 5 and 7. They should be set permanently in the ground at equaldistances apart iu rows, the distances between the track row being equalfrom the vertical center ofone post to the length of the track-rails Gand H, the distances between the middle lines of the trackrails when inplace being equal to the distance between the circumferential middlelines of the supporting and guiding wheels A A and B B of the machine.

The posts o-o may be set out at the begini lning of the season, and mayremain permanently in place until the crop is made; or in the case ofperennial crops the posts may remain from year to year, serving asguides for all subsequent operations.

The machine may be used first as a marker, then a drill, and afterwardas a cultivator by some slight changes in the gangs of hoes, teeth, andshoes, as will be hereinafter explained, the posts serving as guides onwhich to lay the tracks, and causing the machine to travel in preciselythe same track as when the crop was drilled off, the ground marked, and

the seed sowed in by hand, as may be done, if l desired.

If the machine and rails are so constructed that the distance betweenthe rails is equal to the width of the machine, the posts may be placedat equal distances apart, and thereby form intersecting rows, so thatthe rails may be laid to mark the ground by furrows intersecting atright angles, and the seed may be dropped or growing plants transplantedat the intersecting points, and the plants be cultivated both ways.

The track may be laid entirely across the garden or field, which willexpedite the working of the machine,or only a limited nu mber-f say,four or six rails-may be employed, and taken up behind the machine as itleaves them and placed down before to track the machine across thegarden or field.

The track-rails are made light, and yet are made to have the requisitestrength and durability in the following manner: I place two strips ofmetal in the form of light bars, b b, together to form a T incross-section, as shown `in Figs. 3 and i, and iu the inside angles ofsaid T, l place two wooden rails, D D, and secure the whole together, asshown. The end castings, s s, are provided in their ends withrectangular recesses s s, each of which, when the rails are in place,`receives one-half of the upper end of one of the posts o o. The rail Gis the guide-rail, and is constructed in the same manner as the rail H,exceptthat the end castings and the rail itself are inverted, so thatthe projecting edge of the stein of the T will be uppermost and willform the track for the grooved wheels B B, the plain wheels. A A

traveling on the plain rail H.

The object of thc rail is not only to guide the machine always in thesame track, but is also to lessen the friction by removing the wheelsentirely from the ground,and thereby render ing the working of themachine far more easy than it would otherwise bc.

The machine properv is mounted on four wheel, A A and B B, upon the endsof the hollow axles O C, the journals being formed by inserting into theends of the axles the inner ends of the skeins c c a a, having theirouter ends threaded for the reception of the nuts a' for securing1 thewheels in place.

The forward axle C is provided with the handle or tongue I, having thehand-rods J J for the purpose ot' turning thc machine around when theend of the row is reached. This handle is secured upon a pin or stud, a,in the center piece,F2,ofthc frameof the machine, and is keyed fast atits front end to the kingbolt w, serving` to attach the front axle, C,to the frame piece F.

Through the end pieces, F F, and thcintermediate piece, F2, pass thehollow rods K K, carrying the gangs of shovels or hoes, &e., as the casemay be. The rods K K arc adj ustable lengthwise by means of the lever T,the pins t t of which engage the grooves t2 t2 in the semicircularblocks Y Y, secured to the tops of the hollow shafts Ii l near thecenter piece, F3. Each of these blocks has two or more grooves, in orderthat the pins may be shifted from one pair to another to increase ordiminish the longitudinal adjustment of the rods K li, thus enabling theoperator to perform very close adjustments to the rows of plants undercultivation. One rod may be shifted in one'direction and the other rodin the opposite direction, so as to allow the shovels or plows of theforward rod to extend into the space between the plows of the rear rod.

The gangs of shovels are adjustable through the lever X and itsrack-bar. This lever X is a double or sectional lever, and it enablesthe operator to accurately adjust the depth to which the eultivators areto operate, or to lift them entirely from the ground when turning themachine or in moving from one field to another. The lever X consists ofa long arm, to which is connected a short arm, no', and the stirrups orat the lower ends of X X are pivoted to the shafts K K', to permit theirlongitudinal adjustment by the lever T independently of cach other. Thehollow rods, with the means for adjusting them longitudinally and forrotating them to adjust the plows vertically, not being claimed in thisapplication, are incorporated and claimed in a pending application, No.125,423, tiled March 25, 1884.

To the rear of the machine 4is attached a seed-box, L, Fig. 6, havingtubes b, connecting with the drill-shoes, and is operated by its lever xstriking pins on the inside of the rail. Vthen the machine is to be usedas a drill, one set or gang of shovels should be removed cntirely, andtheother one removed and replaced by the gang of drill-shoes.

In using the machine as a marker the gang of marking-hoes only are inplace, and when used as a eultivator the two gangs of cultivator-hoesshould be in place. The under portions ofthe frame-pieces F F and F2 arebolted into the upper portions. This is for convenience inmanufacturing, and renders it easier to change the gangs ot'eultivators, Sto.

As many rows of plants may be cultivated at one time as there areshovels in the two gangs; but ordinarily it is intended to plow onlyone-half as many rows as there are shovels, thus allowing two shovelsfor each row.

In operation the machine is pushed by hand or drawn by horses; or a ropeand windlass may be used to move the machine on the track. If only fourrails are used, as the machine advanees those in rear must be taken upand placed down in front. The operator may walk behind the machine,controlling the plows by the llevers T and X. Vhen the end of a row hasbeen reached, the operator releases the handle from its piu, and,cramping the wheels, permits the machine to turn around like a carriage.

The means for operating the seeder in this machine are simple andcomplete. I make a row of holes in the inner face of the track-rail, inwhich I place removable pins 00, against which a lever, as", connectedto the seed-slide, strikes as the machine moves along, and causes theseed to be dropped at regular distances apart. To form rows both ways-t1e., intersecting rows-it is unnecessary to mark off the ground whenthese pins are used, as they operate as a check-rower, and the distancebetween them may be varied for different kinds of seed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combination, with a guide or carrying rail having a row ofremovable pins projecting laterally from said rail, of agardening-machine carrying the seed-box, and a lever, x", connected withthe seed slide and adapted to be struck by the pins, substantially asspecied.

The combination,in a gardening-machine having a seed-box secured to therear end thereof, of'a guide and carrying rail and a lever adapted tostrike in succession the row of pins placed in the side of the saidcarrying-rail, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with a guide or carrying rail having projectionsfit-ted to or formed thereon, of a gardening-machine having its seedingdevices arranged to be operated by the said projections to drop the seedat regular distances or intervals, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the posts set in the ground and guide andcarrying rails supported on said posts, of a gardening-machine havingits wheels running on the rails and IOC IIO

forth.

provided with implements or devices to-act upon the crop or soil betweenthe rails, as set 5. The combination, with the guide or track railssupported above the ground in parallel rows or lines, one set havingplain faces and the alternate set having flanged faces,of agardening-machine having plain wheels at one side and grooved wheels atthe other side to correspond with the rails, said machine carryingimplements or devices for acting upon the crop or soil between therails, as set forth.

G. The combination,with the guide and carrying rails arranged across thegarden or field so as to subdivide the latter into parallel rows, of thegardening-machine mounted on wheels at each side which run on therails,and implements carried by the machine between the wheels to actupon the soil or crop between the rails, as and for the purpose setforth.

7. The combination, with the guide or track rails arranged across thefield in parallel rows, of a gardening-machine mounted on two sets ofwheels which run on said rails, the axle of the forward set of wheelsbeing pivoted, and an attachment for the said pivoted or movable axle,so as to allow the turning of the machine l on the rails when the end ofthe row is reached, as set forth.

8. The combination, with the guide or track rails arranged across thefield in parallel rows, of a gardening-machine mounted on wheels runningon the rails, one set having a rigid axle and the other set having apivoted axle, and a handle connected with the latter and extending backtoward the rear of the machine, so as to operate the axle and turn themachine on the rails, as set forth.

9. The combination, with the guide or track rails arranged in a seriesot' sets or rows extending across the field, and each set comprising aplain rail and a flanged rail,of a garden-

